by CheapBastid on Wed May 15, 2019 4:51 pm
I was strongly advised against pushsing during the big May 1st gathering by several of the high level folks I met.
"People like to fight"
"You're likely going to injure someone or get injured"
...stuff like that.
I had trouble with being 'wrangled' in the past with native speakers, so I developed a strategy. I used Google Translate and came up with this:
玩推手时请帮助我们确保安全。
如果我们的脚移动,请停止。
如果我用手轻轻敲打你,停止 - 这意味着你锁定了我。
I had it full screened on my phone and with each person I met I humbly held it out to them with both hands.
It worked well enough to keep me from getting into fights.
=)
I don't know the names of the folks I played with (except for one: Liu YingWen who was a student of Wei Shuren) but the day went this way:
Arrived early and ran into a fairly strong/skilled local who had pushed with me the day before, he immediately dragged me to the biggest guy there (looked to about half my age - in his mid 20s). I did the phone thing, he nodded and we went at it.
I then got dragged to a new guy who was younger and taller, not quite as beefy, but plenty beefy enough, he read my phone, nodded and we went at it.
Needless to say the white guy pushing hands drew a crowd like a trained monkey playing piano.
Another fellow I'd met previously pulled me over to an ancient one, who read my phone, nodded and we went at it.
From my last trip in 2010 I adopted a 'strategy' that served me well, and I used it this time as well:
"This is their house, let them win and keep face. Once they calm down, gently neutralize and get their attention without pushing them out. Then see how it goes"
The energetic shift from young play to old play got an even bigger crowd to assemble. Then I was bounced between the bruisers and the frail.
Overall - everyone was very 'macho' and dominating was the key element in my encounters - except for one teacher who was strong, seasoned (likely in his 60s), yet mellow.
Last edited by
CheapBastid on Wed May 15, 2019 4:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.